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Catching Up With Paul Malignaggi, Who Talks Judah, Mago, Cotto Fight

Published

11 years ago

November 21, 2013

Paul Malignaggi is counting down to a mini-megafight, a headline feature at Barclays Center on Dec. 7, against fellow Brooklyner Zab Judah. “The Battle of Brooklyn” pits two ultra-savvy pugilists–and they are pugilists, men who work the angles, and use guile and finesse and movement and countering–in a faceoff, with the winner moving on toward more meaningful and lucrative bouts, and the loser, depending on how they perform, dropping back a step or two on the ladder.

The Bensonhurst-bred hitter was in a fine mood when we chatted. We chatted about his recent appearance in the NY Post, on Page Six; a tipster spotted him in the downtown NY pizza shop Portobello’s. I jokingly asked Paulie if he was going to have scale trouble for the Judah fight. “Nah,” he said, chuckling, “the slice was wheat crust, gluten free!”

I did wonder if fans of trash talk might get a little taste ahead of the Judah clash; both men have been known to bring it and sling it when the need arises. “It would feel weird trash talking with Zab,” he told me. “I think we’re both waiting on each other. We’ve known each other since we were teens.” The vocal interplay could still get a little spicy, he said, but he’s certain the fight will be fan-friendly. “You get in there with a guy, and he hits you, and you get mad, and you want to get him back,” he said. “I have no doubt it will be entertaining.”

I also asked him about his fight with Miguel Cotto, back in 2006, because I recalled his right cheek getting swollen during the bout, and looking not unlike Magomed Abdusalamov’s during his fateful bout against Mike Perez Nov. 2. As you likely know, Mago has been in an induced coma since Nov. 4. “Yes, it was a similar sitaution but here’s the difference, Mago was complaining, he was clearly worried about what was happening,” Malignaggi told me. “I feel maybe he sensed something was wrong but that communication only happens in the corner. The New York Commission can’t be faulted because what they see is Mago fighting back.” Malignaggi, who by the way had a broken orbital bone, and was sent by the Commission to the hospital in an ambulance post-fight, said in the Cotto bout he could feel swelling but didn’t sense he was in danger from that.

The boxer smartly points out that in such tragic situations, everyone has 20/20 hindsight, of course. My main takeaways, I suppose, with that perfect hindsight, are that we always need to keep in mind that the ultimate price paid for fighting is death, and monitor fights and fighters accordingly, that it is always better to stop a fight too early than too late, and it is better to be safe than sorry with fighters, and it’s wise to be over-cautious, and send them to the hospital for observation after a rugged outing. Then again, I do believe four doctors checked out Mago post-fight, including an esteemed neurologist, so it can be argued that due caution was exercised by the overseers.

The fighters usually have oversized hearts, and want to continue at all costs. Those around them are there to intercede on their behalf, step in and save them from themselves. Not sure if Paulie remembers, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital on a stretcher, out of pride…

The fighter said the Mago situation does pop into his head, but “you can’t think about negativity when you’re getting int he ring or you won’t be successful. It does make me realize that life is delicate and each trip into the ring can’t be taken for granted.”

Amen, sir.

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Michael Woods

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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